21 Scroll Saw Tips and Tricks

Lighting. Good lighting will allow you see the lines better and give you the cleanest possible cut. You can purchase lights separately that can be mounted directly onto the scroll saw.
Magnifying glass. For extra precision, you can purchase a magnifying glass that can also be mounted directly onto the saw.
Check your teeth. Run your thumb up the front of the blade to assure the teeth are pointed down and to the front of the saw. Small blades actually can turn 180 degrees as you tension the blade.
Check your blades. Blades should be properly secured, sharp and not dull or bent, which can create uneven cuts. When blades are stored for long periods of time they tend to rust. Spray them with a light coat of oil or with WD40 to prevent rusting.
Change your blades. Most blades, with heavy usage, only last about 30 minutes before they become dull or break. Keep an extra supply of blades close at hand. Attach a magnetic strip to your saw stand and place the blades on the strip for easy access.
Blade tension. Too much or too little blade tension causes blades to break frequently. Apply only enough tension to hold the blade with no more than 1/8″ flex from side to side. When you pluck the blade like a guitar string, you should hear a nice, clear ping.
Work higher. You can double the life of your blade by creating a higher working surface to take advantage of the blade’s unused portion.
Use a reverse tooth blade. On a reverse tooth blade, the last three teeth at the bottom of the blade are going in the opposite direction than all others. This change in direction helps eliminate burrs on the bottom of your piece.
Cut dry wood. It is important to cut dry wood and to cut with a dry blade. Wet wood will slowly but surely wear down your saw blades and shorten its life.
Prevent warping. Store wood in a dry place, on a flat surface with a heavy piece of wood on top. To reverse a warped piece of wood, dampen its surface with a rag and set it on a flat surface with a heavy weight on top for a week or so. If you do cut out a pattern from a warped piece of wood, it will usually straighten out when you assemble it with other pieces.
V-block. Use a v-block when cutting rounded wood. This helps hold the wood and keeps it from rolling into the blade, which can cause it to break or jam up.
Use grain direction to your advantage. Examine your pattern and consider the grain patterns that would work best to convey a particular effect or highlight to your piece.
Shape multiple pieces at the same time. Use double-sided tape to keep pieces together while you sand. This will ensure smooth transitions between pieces as you contour.
Don’t finish sand with worn sandpaper. When the grit is gone, rubbing sandpaper on the wood will only burnish it. However, you can still use the worn paper to sand sharp or fragile parts.
Oily rags are dangerous. Rags soaked in mineral spirits and other volatile liquids can spontaneously burst into flames. Dispose of the rags in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and don’t forget your gloves and safety glasses.
How to check for a 90-degree cutting angle. When stack cutting, make sure your blade is cutting straight up and down. To test this, take a piece of scrap wood and make a short cut in it. Pull the wood back from the blade. Place the wood behind the blade, turning the piece so the cut is facing the back of the blade. Slide the wood into the back of the blade so it goes into the cut. If the blade fits smoothly, your blade is square to the table. If the blade doesn’t, you’ll need to adjust the table until the fit is smooth.
Prevent wood splitting. If you’re using a drill press to drill a thin piece of wood, place a scrap piece underneath your project piece for reinforcement and to prevent splitting. If you’re drilling holes through thicker wood, drill down until the point of the bit just breaks through the bottom surface of the wood and then stop. Turn the wood over and finish drilling from the other side. This will prevent splintering when the wood breaks through.
Don’t discard your cutouts. For any detailed fretwork project that has large cutout areas, save the pieces you have cut out and place them back in the cutout, but don’t glue them down. This will give extra support to the fragile pieces while you work on the rest of the piece.
Prevent your wood from burning. To prevent hardwood from burning while you cut it, put clear packaging tape over the top of the pattern. The tape lubricates the blade and keeps the wood from burning.
Let the saw do the work. It’s natural to want to push the wood into the blade. This leads to stressed muscles and broken blades. Less pushing always makes for easier cutting.
Relax and have fun! Completing a project will always take longer than you think. Taking your time is the best way to decrease cutting errors. But if you do make a mistake, it just becomes a part of the piece. It’s an original, handcrafted piece, after all. It should look handcrafted!